Los Lonely Boys brings heart to Let’s-A Fiesta benefit concert

Published 11:32 am, Thursday, September 21, 2017

Photo: Courtesy Los Lonely Boys

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Photo: Courtesy Los Lonely Boys

Los Lonely Boys brings heart to Let’s-A Fiesta benefit concert

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The I-20 Wildlife Preserve & Jenna Welch Nature Study Center will celebrate its 10th anniversary today with a party. Los Lonely Boys will headline the organization’s Let’s-A Fiesta at the Horseshoe Amphitheater. And according to Jojo Garza, the band’s singer and bassist, the San Angelo-based band loves helping out the West Texas neighborhood.

Before tonight’s show, Garza talked from his San Angelo home about the band’s interest in helping causes through music and the band’s evolution from its Grammy-winning debut in 2004 to today.

IF YOU GO:

MRT: Being in West Texas, this show seems like a rare appearance for Los Lonely Boys.

Garza: Yeah, we actually don’t play that much around here. We try to spread it out so folks around here don’t get tired of us. But when we do, the love and honor given is never what we expect. It’s so great.

MRT: Even though it’s all West Texas, does that audience response change if it’s here in Midland or back home in San Angelo?

Garza: Every time we’ve played Midland, it feels just like home. We have family and friends there and always get a great response there.

MRT: Los Lonely Boys is helping out the I-20 Preserve with this concert, and you have a benefit concert coming up in October in San Angelo for Hurricane Harvey relief. What does it mean for Los Lonely Boys to be able to help out?

Garza: Man, we love to put our music to good use. We’re always trying to do that. It’s not always about the money. As far as we’re concerned, music should be used to heal.

MRT: But there is the commercial side of it that’s necessary, right?

Garza: We can see how music fills pockets, but it takes away from the context of what music can accomplish as a blessing and healing. There are so many crises around the world, and music can help or bring awareness to all people about all places. We don’t see that all the time.

MRT: It seems there aren’t those clear efforts like Live Aid or USA for Africa.

Garza: I think Farm Aid is still around from all that. But you know, if you can get thousands of people at Bonnaroo just to hang out for no purpose, imagine what can be done when there is a reason to help.

MRT: The industry has changed all around. Los Lonely Boys burst onto the scene with the smash “Heaven” in 2004. How is the industry now for you?

Garza: We had our popularity on the radio but we also have a notoriety for what we stand for in our music and Texican rock ’n’ roll sound. That ended up not having a place in radio. So we weren’t getting listened to. The business is hard for musicians but we’ve also embraced the new mainstream, like YouTube

MRT: But much has been written about how the band expanded and experimented with new sounds for your 2014 album “Revelation.”

Garza: We’re always looking to expand and it was the evolution of Los Lonely Boys. We were very conscious of working with new sounds. We wrote with other writers and had different musicians. We always want to grow.

MRT: Your brother, Henry, suffered a severe fall in 2013 and then your mother passed in 2015. What were conversations like musically after going through such hardships?

Garza: I think in the next months or years, people will see those conversations in our music. I, we, had to find a way to put it into our own flow. Adversity is always going to be there, but we stay positive and put our heart and soul into our creativity. Some of “Revelation” showed that.

MRT: Did your hiatus from the road help?

Garza: After Henry’s fall, all we cared about was having our brother back. His wife and kids wanted their daddy back. Once we were given that blessing, we expanded out of that. But that and our mother is an everyday process but I think people can relate to that. Family is everything.

MRT: Back to this show and the Harvey benefit: How do you feel about being able to lend the worldwide recognizable name of Los Lonely Boys to your hometown and West Texas events?

Garza: We think taking care of your neighborhood is really important. If we got the time, we’re there. We want to bring a good time and have that transfer of energy between the audience and us. If we can get you to smile or shed a tear, we want to be a light through any darkness.